


Neverending

by Misaya



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Sex, Awkward Flirting, Books, Falling In Love, House Cleaning, M/M, Mansion Fic, Rich Erwin Smith, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-16 01:03:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5807242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Misaya/pseuds/Misaya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erwin is a rich, eccentric house owner. Levi moves in as the new housekeeper, with free room and board, and learns more and more about Erwin through the possessions he keeps. </p><p>Rated [explicit] for a scene at the end of the story; the vast majority of the story itself is G-T rated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Neverending

**Author's Note:**

> Fic commission from simmi-cosplay.tumblr.com, thanks so much~

The old Victorian house loomed up out of the mist like something one might see in a horror movie, and for a moment, Levi was suitably spooked. He clutched the handles of the battered suitcases he carried tightly, as though the worn leather and scraped casings might be enough protection against whatever monsters might suddenly rise up from the fog. None were immediately apparent, and swallowing past the lump in his throat, Levi thanked the driver Mr. Smith had hired to ferry him from the train station to his mansion, and stepped out into the cold mist. It swirled and pooled about his ankles in ethereal eddies, chilling him to the bone, and Levi hurried up the stone steps to the front door. It was the middle of winter, and the darkness was falling fast. Levi had no intention of being out any longer than he had to be.

The giant brass knocker on the front door was in the shape of a roaring lion, and Levi dropped his battered suitcases on the porch before reaching up on tiptoes to grab at the metal. It was cold and heavy in his hand, and he lifted it, once, twice, thrice, to send three firm knocks rattling against the wood. He could hear the sound echoing throughout the house, overlapping with the sound of his own quick breath racing through his lungs and the already-fading putterings of the black car’s engine as it disappeared into the gloom. Levi squinted over his shoulder, trying to follow the last vestiges of the car’s cherry red taillights, but they faded all too soon for his own liking.

He knocked again. Perhaps the butler, or whoever Mr. Smith had in charge of staff, hadn’t heard. It was a distinct possibility; with a house this size, Levi wouldn’t be surprised. He’d never cleaned anything quite so massive before, and he wondered, not for the first time, why Erwin had hired him on instead of another housekeeper who might have had more experience with buildings of this scale. He assumed it had something to do with his glowing references, and perhaps the wage cap he’d put tentatively on his salary; surely, asking for a few thousand quid a month in addition to room and board wasn’t too much to ask, was it? Clearly, for Erwin Smith, newly minted owner of Grayside Manor, a sprawling mansion situated in a remote part of the Scottish countryside, Levi’s fee wasn’t too much to ask for at all.

Levi was thinking that he should have had the good sense to bump up his wages a bit. The nearest neighbors were miles away, their equally as expansive mansion barely a dim outline in the darkening mist, and Levi had seen one too many horror movies. If trouble arose, he wouldn’t be able to flee for help, and no one would be able to hear his screams, and he probably should have listened to his mother and stayed in Surrey –

The door was flung open, squealing madly on its hinges, and Levi jumped. A disheveled young man who looked only a bit older than him peered owlishly at him over the tops of round metal spectacles. His blonde hair stood up in wild tufts, and he had a smudge of dust along his cheekbone. Levi began to relax, gradually. Surely this wasn’t what serial killers looked like, was it?

“Are you Levi?” the man asked, in a deep baritone that had Levi thinking of old black and white movies with classically beautiful male leads. He had to chew on the inside of his cheek to stifle a blush that threatened to spill across his face as he nodded. “Well, come in then! I’m Erwin.” Erwin had a strong American accent, but Levi wasn’t familiar enough with the United States to put his finger on what accent exactly it was, and he certainly wasn’t familiar enough with Erwin to ask.

He stepped into a dim cavern of a hall, plopping his suitcases down on the grimy black and white checkered floor. His suitcases dislodged a cloud of dust, and he sneezed violently. Erwin blinked at him, and apologized profusely for the mess, he’d only very recently moved in and hadn’t had a chance to clean up quite yet.

Rubbing at his streaming eyes and trying to tamp down another fit of sneezes, Levi managed to choke out, “Well, that’s what I’m here for, isn’t it?”

Erwin stared at him, and Levi worried he’d made a misstep. Perhaps he’d responded to the wrong advertisement? What if Erwin thought that Levi had signed on to be one of those sugar baby things he’d heard so much about on the Internet, what if he expected Levi to perform certain, ahem, activities for his gratification, what if –

“Oh, right,” Erwin said, his expression inscrutable. “Quite right.” Levi was proud to say that he was only slightly unnerved by Erwin’s abruptness, and he tried not to dwell on it too much as Erwin led him up the curving staircase at the far end of the foyer to show him his rooms.

“And this will be your bedroom,” Erwin announced as he led Levi down a gloomy hallway carpeted with dark fabric that Levi was sure hadn’t been properly vacuumed since the previous owners had moved out in 2006. Erwin pushed open the second door on the left side of the corridor, and Levi walked in to find himself in a sumptuously decorated room. Erwin fumbled on the wall by the door to click on the lamp, and bright golden light blazed into the room from a crystal chandelier that hung from the middle of the ceiling. It scattered shards of brilliance over the furniture, and Levi blinked rapidly for a few moments, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness.

A four-poster bed with rich draperies and a finely quilted burgundy bedspread stood proudly in the middle of the room, framed on either side by a pair of intricately-carved mahogany nightstands with matching lamps. Two squashy slate blue armchairs upholstered in dusty suede were placed in front of an empty fireplace, a small table between them, and empty bookcases lined the walls. Cut-glass panels framed a window seat at the opposite end of the room, looking out onto what Levi was sure would be a splendid view of the countryside on bright and sunny days.

“And over there’s the bathroom,” Erwin muttered from beside him, nearly scaring Levi out of his wits again. He had almost forgotten Erwin was there, he was so taken with the accommodations he’d been presented with. They were certainly the nicest ones he’d ever lived in, and though admittedly the wallpaper was peeling in places, and he could see a thick film of dust on the nightstands, those were things that could easily be remedied. “There are lots of cleaning supplies behind the door beneath the stairs we just came up, but if you find you need anything else, all you need to do is write me a note and I’ll take care of it.

“Now, in regards to your duties,” Erwin said. “Like I put in the ad, your main duties will be just cleaning the place, vacuuming, dusting, unpacking some things in the common rooms that I haven’t gotten around to, etcetera.” He was the only person Levi had ever known who said the full word. “I’ll take care of the things in my rooms and office, but God knows there’s a ton of other stuff I haven’t gotten around to yet. And,” here, he looked a bit sheepishly at Levi; Levi noted his glasses were a bit smudged, and this only made Erwin all the more endearing to him, “I don’t have any other staff yet, so we’ll be on takeout for a few days, unless you can cook…?” He trailed off, looking hopefully at Levi, and Levi had to stifle a laugh. For his towering height and his deep baritone of a voice, Erwin looked vaguely reminiscent of a pitiful puppy.

“I can cook a bit,” Levi said, biting his lip to hide a smile. “I can do a pretty good fry-up, make a nice curry, tea and toast, stuff like that. Nothing fancy though, I'm afraid -”

“Oh, thank God,” Erwin exclaimed, cutting him off, beaming brilliantly. Levi made a mental note to himself; he’d have to get used to Erwin’s quick, brief flashes of exuberance. “I’m utterly hopeless at it.”

Levi tried carefully to keep his face blank, chewing at the inside of his cheek to keep from bursting out into laughter. With accommodations like this, Levi resolved that he’d be willing to do most anything that Erwin requested of him for the time being.

* * *

 

Levi tossed and turned in the bed that night, trying to get comfortable. The sheets were cool and silky beneath him, and in all respects, he should have been out like a light, exhausted as he was from the long drive from the train station. The house sighed and creaked as a gale from the moors rushed in and around the beams, and the darkness felt far thicker, far blacker, than he was used to. In Surrey, even the darkest nights still held some light: an orange glow from the streetlight across the road, the flashing white beams of headlights painting his bedroom wall with brightness for a brief moment. But there were no streetlights here, no cars passing randomly by on their way to the convenience store for a 2 o’clock bag of crisps.

Though he was all of twenty-five years old, Levi was still somewhat terrified of the dark, especially the all-consuming darkness in his room that first night, and after a few heavy sighs of defeat, he rolled over to click on one of the lamps on the nightstand and fell asleep with the soft yellow glow painting across his face.

* * *

 

He woke up at eight the next morning, according to an old grandfather clock ticking pensively away in the corner of his room that he had noticed the previous night. After quickly washing up in the claw footed shower and brushing his teeth with chilly water from the sink tap that tasted vaguely rusty, he hopped into a fresh T-shirt and a well-worn pair of jeans in preparation for the day ahead. He was in for at least a month of vigorous cleaning, and hoped he might be able to tire himself out enough to sleep without the comfort of the lamplight.

But first things first. He headed down the curving staircase, which looked rather nice by the light of day, and puttered around the first floor, peeking through doors and down hallways in his search for the kitchen to start breakfast.

After peering down what felt like a hundred hallways and looking in what felt like a thousand rooms, Levi finally located the kitchen at the back of the house. His worn trainers whispered gently over the cobbled stone floor, and he had to suppress a shiver as he tugged open the handle of the shiny new Viking fridge that was hulking hunched and glaring in its squeezed position between cherry wood cabinets. A thin film of dust covered the cabinets, dulling their gleam, and Levi made a mental note on top of his burgeoning list of mental notes to give them a good, thorough wipe-down. The kitchen was a beautiful room, and Levi could hardly wait to see it filled with polished pieces and gleaming appliances.

Levi wiped down the granite countertop on the island standing in the middle of the kitchen with a clean tea towel he’d found in one of the drawers by the sink before setting down a carton of eggs and a packet of spicy breakfast sausages. The pots and pans gleamed brightly and apparently freshly washed from their hanging positions in a rack above the stovetop, and Levi had to stand on tiptoes and brace himself against the granite countertop to take one down and place it onto the burner.

The olive oil he found on the third shelf of the walk-in pantry, its other shelves occupied with baskets of snacks and other assorted kitchen paraphernalia. Levi frowned in curiosity; who could possibly need so many pepper mills? Their beaded shadows gathered thick along one shelf, and Levi wondered if Erwin was, perhaps, a pepper connoisseur of some sort. It wouldn’t be the strangest road to fortune he’d ever heard of.

He coated the bottom of the pan with a thin film of oil and flicked on the burner, waiting for it to gloss and shine with heat before cracking a few eggs into the pan. They hissed and sizzled as the whites solidified and turned a lovely golden brown around the edges while he peeled the spicy sausages out of their casings and chopped them into thick rounds. While the eggs finished cooking, Levi rummaged through drawers and cabinets to try and find anything even remotely resembling dishes to use. The only plates he could find were stored in a box at the back of one of the cabinets, heavy, fine china patterned with delicate carvings of roses around the rims. He laid a plate gently on the counter with a soft clink and slid the eggs onto it before popping the sausage rounds onto the glistening pan.

Levi located the kettle and a carved wooden tray in the oven, of all places, and after rinsing out the inside of the kettle with water from the tap a couple of times, Levi put it on to boil while he waited for the sausages to finish frying.

The kettle began to whistle as Erwin walked into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes with one hand and covering his yawn with another. His golden hair stood up messy in cowlicks, and Levi tried not to stare at the way Erwin’s flannel nightshirt rucked up to show a tantalizing sliver of tanned skin. He looked vulnerable, childlike almost, nothing like the man who’d hurried Levi inside the day before.

“Whatever you’re making smells amazing,” Erwin said, tossing a smile in Levi’s direction that he reciprocated. “What exactly –“ Erwin stopped, his eyes lingering on the plate of eggs Levi was forking the sausage rounds onto. “Where did you get that?” he asked, his voice suddenly brusque and abrupt.

Levi shied away from the confrontational tone, and tried to backpedal as quickly as possible. Relax, he reminded himself sternly, you haven’t done anything wrong. “It was in the cabinet over there, in a box,” he said with a shrug, pointing towards the cabinet he’d taken the box of plates out of. “I couldn’t find any other plates.”

Erwin sighed, running his hands through his hair and making it stick up even more. “I…” Levi could tell he was trying to measure his words, trying to contain them. “I would prefer it if you didn’t use these plates anymore,” Erwin ground out, through gritted teeth. “I’ll go see about buying some new dishes later today.”

Levi was taken aback, the kettle beginning to scream. He hurried to pull it off the burner. “Do you want tea?” he called, weakly; Erwin already had the plate in hand and was heading off to another part of the house.

“No, thanks,” Erwin replied, barely glancing back over his shoulder before he disappeared through the doorway. Levi was, admittedly, a bit miffed about his new employer’s rudeness, but chalked it up to Erwin just not being too much of a morning person, and he ate his eggs straight from the pan standing over the sink.

* * *

 

Levi managed to drown out his irritation about Erwin’s behavior as he was washing up the dishes and giving the sink a good scrub. Dish soap that smelled like grapefruit made foamy white suds into a thick layer in the sink as he plunged his hands into the water to scrub the sponge along the bottom of the stainless steel. He dried the frying pan on another clean tea towel before hanging it up on the rack and turning to survey the rest of the kitchen. There just seemed to be so much to do, and the numerous rooms and crevices throughout the house stretched out endless before him. Levi had a feeling that as soon as he’d made a full rotation of the house, the first room would have gotten dirty and dusty from disuse already, and he’d have to start all over again in a neverending cycle that stretched into infinity. The thought was as discouraging as it was inspiring, and Levi rolled up his sleeves as he headed to the supply cupboard tucked beneath the stairs to fetch the cleaning supplies. Mops and brooms and assorted buckets of various sizes greeted him when he opened the cupboard door, and he spent a good few minutes reading over the backs of the boxes of different cleaning products before making his selections. 

* * *

 

The sun was already halfway tucked behind the distant hills when Levi saw Erwin again.

The kitchen was gleaming; Levi had spent the day cooped up in the room, sloshing buckets of hot soapy water over the stone cobbles and swabbing at the floors with a mop that had probably seen better days. He had spent ages wiping down the cabinets with rags and tea towels, and his knees ached from propping himself up on the countertops while he rubbed away the fine layers of dust and grime that had ingrained themselves in the glossy wood. He had been in the process of rubbing down all the shelves of the unused cabinets and drawers in the kitchen when Erwin had come in, his footsteps clicking over the freshly washed stones.

Levi stood to greet him, surreptitiously wiping his forehead with the edge of his right sleeve and trying not to wince as a twinge ran up his back as he straightened up, something caused no doubt by the awkward angle he’d been forced into to dust away the cobwebs he’d spied gathering in a corner of the cabinet beneath the sink. Erwin was carrying a stack of boxes that he deposited on the counter, unpacking plates and bowls and other assorted dishes and cutlery from them, which he placed in drawers and cabinets. He made no mention of the incident that morning, and Levi determined that he would not, either.

When he was finished unpacking the boxes, Erwin turned to Levi. “Sorry about this morning,” he said, gruffly. “I realize I came off as a bit…rude.” Ah. He hadn’t forgotten. Levi waited for an explanation for Erwin’s behavior, but when none was forthcoming, he simply gave Erwin a short nod.

“Apologies accepted,” he said, smiling kindly, but Erwin was already turning away to flatten the boxes to pop into the recycling bin.

* * *

 

That night, after he’d scrounged up enough ingredients for a sparse curry and taken it to Erwin in his office, Levi gobbled down a bowl of curry himself and washed the dish before stacking it back into the appropriate cabinet. Despite asking Levi not to use the rose-rimmed plates from before, Erwin hadn’t taken the box of dishes down from where it had been this morning, and, throwing a glance back over his shoulder to make sure Erwin wasn’t in the immediate vicinity, Levi reached into the cabinet to take down the box again.

He examined it more carefully this time, beneath the buzzing glare of the harsh fluorescent light bulbs screwed into lamps embedded in the undersides of the cabinets. Under the lighting, the etchings of the leaves and flowers appeared deeper, more substantial under the curious tracings of Levi’s fingertip. The china was cool to the touch, heavy, and Levi wondered what sort of sentimental value the plates had for Erwin. They were for special occasions, that much was clear enough, but what was the point of toting them around if he wasn’t willing to use them?

Sighing and aching with fatigue, Levi closed the box of china and pushed it back into the cupboard before heading upstairs to sink into a bath.

* * *

 

The hot water soaked luxuriously into his bones, gently massaging away the ache that had settled into the small of his back and in the arches of his feet from the long day of work, and Levi sighed with relief as he leaned back against the rim of the claw footed tub. Steam billowed up around him from the water’s surface, and he inhaled the soothing citrus scent of the bath salts he’d dumped in earlier.

Relaxed and idle, his mind finally had time to wander, and they settled on the nearest thing, the strange mystery of Erwin Smith and his china plates.

It had something of a detective mystery novel ring to it, and Levi hummed as he sank lower into the bath, the hot water lapping at his jaw. Perhaps it was some sort of American thing, to tote fine china all over the world without ever using it? No, that didn’t make too much sense. Levi sighed contentedly, tiredness seeping into his bones as he rolled over languid in the tub. The best idea he had was that there were some memories associated with the plates that Erwin didn’t like thinking about or bringing up. Yeah. That must have been it. Perhaps Erwin had other such things of sentiment lying scattered about the house in all those stacked cardboard boxes Levi had spied in the corners of still-empty rooms? It would certainly be something Levi wanted to investigate into further, but for now, he crawled out of the tub and barely managed to dry himself off and swathe himself in flannel pajamas before falling into bed.

His sleep was so deep and consuming that Levi didn’t even notice the lack of the comforting glow of the lamp on the nightstand.

* * *

 

The next morning, Levi awoke after a refreshing nine hours of sleep and finished cleaning up the kitchen. Erwin had left a little sticky note affixed to the fridge, telling him that he’d already eaten and there was another serving of take away waffles in the microwave if he so wanted. Levi was a bit touched; perhaps Erwin wasn’t as heartless and odd as he’d perceived him as earlier. Perhaps this was an attempt to make a more heartfelt apology.

The waffles were already a little soggy, sticky with thick syrup, and a bit too cloyingly sweet for Levi’s taste, but he soldiered through it bravely. It was the thought that counted, and Levi washed down the sticky sugary taste with a mug of strongly brewed English Breakfast before hopping up to finish the kitchen and begin to tackle some of the boxes in the adjacent laundry room.

The fuzzy towels and silky sheets that Levi pulled out from the cardboard boxes labeled ‘LAUNDRY’ in thick black marker were dusty with detritus from the move, or perhaps they had been dusty before Erwin, or whoever had packed his belongings, had folded them into the boxes. Wrinkling his nose in distaste, and sneezing a few times for good measure, Levi unfolded the sheets and towels and tossed them in the state-of-the-art washer with a generous cup of detergent from the bright orange bottle he’d found in the laundry closet. The clothes spun around in the wash cycle, a whirl of colors and suds and fabrics, and checking the digital display on the washer, Levi made a mental note to return in forty minutes and move them to the dryer. In the meantime, Levi ambled into the next room, an expansive chamber with large windows on the opposite wall. Bright light streamed into the room, and Levi stared dreamily out at the rambling, overgrown gardens the room overlooked. He could picture roses blossoming from the dark brambles of bushes clumped together in the rich soil, beds of tulips and violets and all manner of other velvet-petaled flowers in neatly ordered rectangles, their fragrances lifting into the air to mix and mingle with the soft scents of the wildflowers that spotted the grass of the softly rolling meadows Levi could see.

Empty bookcases stood patiently, waiting for attention, waiting to be filled, and if the heft and weight of the boxes lined up neatly against the wall were any indication, the boxes were filled with a wealth of books to make a library. Levi’s fingers were itching with anticipation already, ready to slice through the thick layer of masking tape that sealed the cardboard closed to see what treasures the boxes contained. Maybe, he thought, thinking back to Erwin’s thoughtfulness at leaving the waffles in the microwave for him, Erwin would even let him take a crack at a few of his literary gems after the house was swept into tip-top shape again.

The tape crackled and ripped as he tore the flaps of the boxes apart. He plunged his arms headlong into the box, coming up with an armful of words and pages that were perfumed with the comforting scent of bookbinding paste and yellowing paper. Most of the books he pulled out were heavy encyclopedic texts, with glossy titles stamped into silver and gold leaf, and Levi riffled through the thin onion-skin pages with vague interest, pausing here and there to read a paragraph that caught his eye. The encyclopedias were numbered with Roman numerals stamped into their spines, and Levi caressed their glossy covers lovingly as he slotted them neatly into order. Their burgundy and gold bindings were a comforting sight to look at, and Levi could hardly wait for the rest of the room to be furnished; he had a feeling it would be a particularly lovely place to retreat on rainy days, with a good book and nice, strong cup of tea.

Other books that he pulled out were novels, hardcovers and paperbacks alike. Erwin seemed to have the whole compilation of James Patterson’s and Stephen King’s works, and though Levi had never been particularly fond of either one, perhaps he might find the time to finally sit down and work through It. He’d heard amazing things about the horror novel, but the idea of sitting down and trying to work through all those hundreds of pages had always seemed rather daunting in the past.

Deeper down in one of the boxes, Levi unearthed a tattered copy of The Neverending Story. He ran his fingers absentmindedly across the dusty title, smiling fondly in remembrance. He’d been only eight when his mother had read him the book in its entirety for the first time, and he remembered spending ages in the back garden, pretending to be Balthazar Bastian Bux and Atreyu by turns.

It had been a while since he’d reread the fantasy work, and Levi flipped open the book, ready to sneak in a few pages of reading. An inscription written in curling, elegant script on the yellowing paper of the title page caught his eye, and he paused. “Dear Erwin,” it read. “May our story never end. M.” The spine of the book was bent and cracked, but none of the pages appeared to be torn or stuck together, signs of a book well-loved and well-read in equal measure. Whoever this M person was must have loved Erwin quite well, Levi thought to himself, if the little dedication was anything to go by. He wondered if M was still in Erwin’s life, decided quickly that they probably weren’t, otherwise Erwin would have taken him or her with him. Wouldn’t he?

Levi shrugged off the curious thoughts, and immersed himself in the first pages of the story, kneeling on the freshly dusted floorboards. The sunlight poured in gently, painting across the lines of text and dialogue, and Levi had almost forgotten how much he’d enjoyed the book, and a few pages turned into a few chapters turned into Levi’s knees starting to ache and his eyes starting to burn with the strain as he tried to read through the falling dimness of twilight.

Twilight? Already? Levi jumped up, dropping the book to the floor before quickly bending down to scoop it up. He hadn’t intended to spend the whole afternoon reading. His knees protested sorely, and he winced as he leaned down to rub furiously at them. His stomach growled in anguish, and he quickly tucked The Neverending Story into an empty bookshelf as he hurried to the kitchen. Surely Erwin would be wanting dinner, and Levi scolded himself for losing track of time.

When he skidded into the kitchen, Levi was surprised to find that Erwin was already sitting at the oak table, his golden hair lit up in a soft halo around his head from the fluorescent lights. Hearing Levi come in, Erwin smiled and beckoned him to sit down in an adjacent seat, though the expression and gesture felt a little forced.

“I thought you might be hungry,” he said, smiling owlishly at Levi over the rims of his glasses. Bowls of steamed vegetables and a platter of steaks sat steaming on the table, ones that Levi felt relatively sure came from prepackaged trays from M&S. “Thanks so much, you’ve been doing a great job!” Erwin beamed at him, and Levi felt quite guilty, having just wasted the better part of an afternoon absorbed in a children’s story. “The kitchen looks just about brand new, I couldn’t believe it when I walked in this morning!”

Levi stuffed a bite of steak into his mouth to give himself a reasonable excuse for not answering. He chewed thoughtfully, swallowed. Definitely M&S. He’d recognize this flavor anywhere.

“Of course,” he said, smiling over at Erwin and praying that he didn’t have a floret of broccoli or something stuck between his teeth. “It was hardly any trouble at all.”

Erwin smiled gratefully, a deep dimple appearing in the pocket of his right cheek and a twinkle glistening in his blue eyes. M had fantastic taste, whoever he or she was, Levi thought to himself as he gulped frantically at his glass of sparkling water, and it was just so lucky for Levi that they were indisposed or away or not even in Erwin’s life at the present moment –

Levi pinched himself roughly on the thigh to distract himself from the wanton thoughts that had suddenly flooded through his mind. It really wouldn’t do to go getting those sorts of thoughts about his employer, of all people; that, and it was also horribly clichéd, like it belonged in some sort of celebrity gossip rag.

“I’ll clear up here,” Erwin offered once they’d finished their dinner together, stifling Levi’s protests by leaning across the table to press a finger over Levi’s lips to shush him. Levi snapped his mouth closed immediately, Erwin’s skin against his mouth burning a trail. “It’s Saturday,” Erwin said, with a not unkindly smile. “I hardly expect you to be working around the clock, especially not on the weekends. “Take a bit of time for yourself. Read a book, relax, take a long bath, something like that.” He smiled apologetically, running his hands through his hair and making it float staticky around his face. Levi’s fingers itched with the temptation to reach over and smooth it down, maybe cup Erwin’s face in the process. No. He’d really have to refrain. “The electric guys will be coming sometime next week to see about setting up the televisions and Internet connection, but until then, I’m afraid you’ll have to find other ways to entertain yourself.”

“No worries at all,” Levi said, shaking his head and helping Erwin stack the empty plates and bowls and cutlery. “Though, if it’s not too much trouble, could I maybe read some of the books from your collection?”

Erwin turned to look down at him, a delighted smile spreading across his face. “But of course!” he replied, the fine skin at the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Please go ahead and help yourself to anything you’d like. God knows those books need some love. I don’t think I’ve read even a quarter of them.”

Gleeful, and thanking Erwin profusely for washing up, Levi all but skipped back to the library, scooping up the tattered copy of The Neverending Story before heading up the stairs to take a bath. He hoped to get at least to the part with the Nothingness before he turned in for the night.

* * *

 

Levi woke up early the next morning, a habit from a childhood spent going to early morning Mass that he’d never been able to break though he’d broken from the church a long time ago. He lazed about in bed, loose-limbed and languid, turning his head every once in a while to admire the fog rolling over the moors and bathing the house in foamy grey. The light filtered in milky through the windows, and, stifling a yawn, Levi rolled over to pluck The Neverending Story from the nightstand and continue where he’d left off the night before.

As he was riffling through the pages to find his place, a square of pressed lavender muslin slipped out. Curious, he plucked it from where it had fluttered to rest on his pillowcase. Though it was faded, Levi could still make out the bright white thread that monogrammed an M in one of the corners. It smelled faintly of something bright, citrus, perhaps, or maybe jasmine. It smelled like a woman’s perfume, and Levi placed it reverently on his nightstand before turning back to the book. He had no doubt this M was the same M who’d given the book to Erwin.

Perhaps it had been the end of a bad relationship or something? Levi wondered absentmindedly as he finally found his place again. At any rate, it wasn’t really any of his business, and if Erwin wanted to share anything about his personal life with him, Levi would listen but would keep his internal commentary to himself.

* * *

 

Over the weeks that followed, their routine never varied. Levi did a heavy cleaning of one room per day, shaking the dust out of heavy rugs that he unrolled from their plastic wrappings and draped neatly across the floor afterwards, arranging Erwin’s various knickknacks over the nightstands and mantle pieces and coffee tables. He found himself thinking that Erwin had quite a lot of things for one man, but just chalked that up to Erwin being a certifiable card-carrying member of the nouveau riche. Ever since the televisions had been hooked up and the Internet had started running through the manor, Levi had looked Erwin up on his iPhone, and hadn’t been surprised to see his name pop up several times in the recent news articles. Tapping on one said article, he’d discovered that Erwin Smith was something of a quote unquote big deal: he’d recently developed some sort of computer application that would quickly calculate quick and affordable options for people traveling on a budget, with lists of museums and national monuments and other such tourist attractions with bargain tickets and the like. People all over the United States were raving about it, and, as far as Levi could tell, Erwin had become a self-made multimillionaire seemingly overnight.

There was, much to his dismay, no mention of M in the articles, and even when he browsed through the social gossip columns in which Erwin appeared, they frustratingly made no mention of any companion, female or male, who might be in Erwin’s life. The vast majority of the articles in these columns were uninteresting drivel, and Levi skimmed over them with vague distaste, and it was only on the third page of Google results that Levi discovered anything even resembling a clue as to who the elusive M might be.

“Relationship on the rocks?” the article headline trumpeted, and Levi wrinkled his nose. “Erwin Smith, the new hotshot app programmer on the block, and his fiancée Marie Devereaux seem to be going through a rough patch. Several people, won’t say who, have reported that Miss Devereaux has gone through the seedier parts of the Manhattan social scene with abandon, stumbling out of nightclubs at 3 AM with some yet to be identified friends. Witnesses also report she’s no longer wearing her engagement ring; what’s that all about?!” There were no pictures, and, more surprisingly, no comments on the article, and Levi wondered if Erwin had seen it.

He probably had, Levi decided. It wasn’t exactly hard to track down, and he could only fervently hope that Erwin wasn’t too cut up about it.

But, with the scale of the house and the frightening amount of dust and cobwebs that seemed to spin themselves in the corners when Levi wasn’t looking, Levi didn’t have much time for thinking about the gossip columns and Erwin’s social status. He was here now, that was what mattered, and the house wasn’t going to clean itself.

Erwin had recently hired on another batch of staff for the house: a live-in chef and a gardener he’d installed in one of the guesthouses littering the outskirts of the property. He had ushered them in on gloomy, misty days, much like the day he’d ushered Levi in, and had told them to report directly to Levi if they had any questions. Levi was flattered that Erwin was trusting his decisions, though he couldn’t deny that in recent weeks he and Erwin had started growing closer and closer. Their relationship, Levi estimated, was no longer one that was solely employee-employer, and had started to become something more resembling friendship. Levi had even caught Erwin looking at him fondly over the breakfast that they took together, and couldn’t help but notice that Erwin had let his fingertips linger a bit longer against Levi’s whenever Levi brought his dinner to him in his study.

Surely it was nothing, Levi thought to himself. He was reading far too much into it. It was probably one of Erwin’s eccentricities, like the way his fingers would clench and unclench around the morning newspaper as he read his way through the columns and the way he would arrange his foods in order of preference around the rim of his plate in a clockwise fashion.

That, or perhaps it was just an American thing, like Erwin laughing loudly and clapping his hand on Levi’s back or shoulder every time he said anything even remotely humorous, and his fondness for eating bread that tasted as sweet as cake. Perhaps it was that.

Levi encouraged himself not to look too much into it, but he couldn’t deny the fact that he was starting to harbor a harmless little crush on his employer.

* * *

 

The weather was slowly growing warmer as Europe slipped into its summer solstice, the sun starting to burn off the thin layer of fog earlier and earlier. The moors were in full bloom, and fat bumblebees trundled lazily through the air, content and satisfied while Levi let the bed sheets air dry on lines he’d strung up in the back garden so the fabric would have that fresh wind and sunshine smell to them when he fitted them back over the mattresses. It was entering the fourth month he’d be working for Erwin, and Erwin had only recently started letting Levi in to clean up his bedroom and bathroom.

“You do a much better job than me,” Erwin said, smiling ruefully as Levi marched past him with an armful of sheets. Admittedly, the state of his bedroom had been utterly appalling, with empty crumpled bags of potato crisps scattered about and stacks of grease-spotted official-looking documents piled high on the dressers and nightstands and, really, just about every flat surface in the room. The ring that circled the porcelain of the tub took ages to get out, and Levi’s arms, though corded with lean muscle that he’d developed over the time cleaning up the rest of the house, were sore for days afterward. When Levi had gotten there, the sheets were lopsided on the bed, the corners untucked so the springy blue surface of the mattress itself was exposed, and Erwin looked sheepishly on as Levi tutted briskly before sweeping up the sheets into a crumb-littered bundle to take to the wash.

Levi flung open the windows to let fresh air in in the attempt to wash out the stale sort of smell that had begun to settle in the corners of Erwin’s bedroom. Unable to resist a quick jab, he looked coquettishly over his shoulder to where Erwin was standing, looking vaguely ashamed at the mess. “You know you do have a housekeeper for a reason, right?” he teased gently, and Erwin looked almost hurt for a moment before he caught sight of Levi’s expression and his face broke out into a grin.

“I’d be a completely lost cause without you,” Erwin admitted, and Levi had to turn back to his useless task of fussing with the silk brocade curtains to keep Erwin from seeing the blush that flamed across his face at Erwin’s words. “It’s a good thing you’re around!” he exclaimed, every bit of heartfelt meaning behind his words, and Levi had to keep himself from fanning at his face; he was sure he was a bright red color, like a particularly overripe tomato, he was sure that it wasn’t at all attractive, and he could feel the heat spreading to coat the back of his neck and the tops of his ears, and, not for the first time, he cursed his transparency.

Much to his mixed horror and delight, Erwin stepped up beside him to help him tug the curtains over to frame the windows instead of covering them. He shot a glance over at Levi, his expressions inscrutable behind his glasses. Was that naked curiosity Levi saw? Maybe it was tenderness, perhaps it was –

His runaway train of thought was interrupted by Erwin’s voice. “Er, Levi, are you feeling quite all right?” Erwin asked kindly, smiling down at him. The way he said Levi’s name sent a quiver of butterflies aflutter in his belly. “You’re very red.”

As though Levi wasn’t mortified enough, Erwin reached out to cup Levi’s hand in his face, a thumb stroking over the jut of his cheekbone. If this had been a romance movie, Levi was sure doves would have burst in perfect formation from the apple trees the gardener had planted in the yard beyond. “And you feel a little warm, too,” Erwin concluded, with a frown. Levi’s heart was racing laps in his chest, and he swallowed roughly. Gulped, actually. Erwin’s fingers were brushing lightly against his jaw, and Levi could smell the gently spicy tang of his cologne.

“Er, yeah, I’m fine,” he said, pulling away softly before things could get any more out of hand. “I’m just, I’m just gonna go check on the wash,” he stammered, hurrying out of the room and too focused with scolding himself on his impropriety that he didn’t feel Erwin’s wistful gaze boring a hole into his back.

* * *

 

Levi tried to calm himself down, leaning against the comforting lub-dub of the washer. The clothes spun in colored circles, around and around the rim of the washer, and he took deep breaths, trying to make his heavy blush dissipate. It wasn’t working nearly as well as he wanted to, and, much to his dismay, he heard heavy footsteps tapping along the hard wood and rapidly approaching. He was sure they belonged to Erwin; neither the chef nor the gardener had such a heavy, solid tread, and both of them were off today, to shop in downtown or to visit relatives.

True to form, Erwin appeared in the doorway to the laundry only a few moments later, looking at Levi with a particularly dismayed expression behind his still-smudged glasses. He looked rather distressed, and Levi wanted to gather Erwin into his arms and stuff his mouth with shortbread cookies or something equally as comforting.

“I’m sorry, Levi,” Erwin said in a low voice, looking abashed and particularly repentant. “I know I was way out of line there, but I thought that…” He trailed off, peeking up at Levi hopefully, and Levi realized with a quiver of affection that Erwin was just as lost as he was about the whole situation they’d suddenly found themselves in. The line between their former relationship as strictly employer/employee had blurred beyond repair, racing towards the new mysterious one they were about to enter, and Levi summoned all his courage, ready to fling himself headlong into whatever the future had to offer.

“What did you think?” he managed to prompt, trying to keep his voice level though his heart was threatening to tear itself out of his rib cage with the rate at which it was beating.

“Ahhh…” Erwin ran his hands through his hair in frustration, making it stand up on end like a disgruntled duckling. Levi’s hands itched to card through the fine golden silk and pat it down. “Forget it,” he mumbled, his eyes downcast. “I was probably misreading signals or something, Marie always said I had horrendous emotional intelligence…”

He turned to leave, and with a boldness that surprised himself, Levi reached out to grasp at Erwin’s wrist and pull him back. “Wait,” Levi whispered, his words barely audible over the swishing of the laundry in the wash. “Tell me what you thought. Please.”

Erwin’s cheeks were aflame as he looked down at Levi in the relative dimness of the laundry room. His first reply was mumbled, quickly, completely masked by the grinding of the washing machine as it switched into its rinse cycle.

“What was that?” Levi asked, getting up on tiptoe to get his ear as close as possible to Erwin’s mouth in an attempt to hear better. “You’ll have to speak up.”

“I said,” Erwin repeated, his lips quivering, “I said I think I might like you.” This last part was rushed, the words trembling and stumbling over each other in their hurry to get out. Levi could hardly believe his ears. Had Erwin just said he thought he might have liked him?

He looked up at Erwin for clarification. Erwin was gnawing nervously at the swell of his lower lip, waiting desperately for Levi’s response.

“Do you mean…?” he asked, breathless, hopeful. Erwin nodded, looking rather guilty.

“Like, I mean, like like,” Erwin stammered, and though it was quite possibly the most juvenile love confession Levi had ever received and would ever receive in his lifetime, he couldn’t help but respond in equal form.

He grinned up at Erwin, who looked relieved and grateful in equal measure. “Well, today’s your lucky day, Mr. Smith,” he teased, happiness infusing his every syllable. “I like like you, also. Very much so.”

Later, Levi would reminisce that it was also the oddest place and time for a love confession subsequently followed up with an awkward first kiss where teeth clicked and Levi all but sprained his back trying to reach up to Erwin’s mouth. He would write about it in a letter home to his mother in Surrey, about the lovely kiss he’d had with a man he liked very much (he would conscientiously leave out the part where Erwin was his employer), about how it smelled like lavender and sunshine (he would also conscientiously leave out the part where said first kiss occurred in said employer’s laundry room, while his sheets were in the rinse cycle). His mother would write back, pages and pages of effusive happiness for him, and Levi would invite her to read the letter at his and Erwin’s wedding five years later. She would agree, the folds in her pages soft and well-worn from how many times Levi had pulled it out and read it gleefully over the years, but that is a story for another time.

* * *

 

Their relationship budded softly, a tentative sprout of a plant quivering up towards the sunlight as though it can hardly believe its good fortune. Erwin would start to invite Levi into his study to share a cup of tea and some slices of cake or sandwiches that the cook had put together, and they would sit and chat idly about Erwin’s computer application, Levi’s particular passion for Jaffa cakes, and different books they enjoyed.

When Levi mentioned how The Neverending Story had been one of his favorite tales as a child, Erwin paused in his frantic tapping at his laptop, where he’d been sending emails to a transportation firm back in the States to try to get them on board with his application’s expansion.

“My ex-fiancee gave me that book for my twentieth birthday,” he said, smiling wistfully. “But I never quite got around to finishing it. There was always work to do, bills to pay, and then when I had time and money to spare, I was so angry at her I couldn’t bring myself to look at any of the gifts she’d given me. I think I still have it somewhere in the house,” he mumbled, waving his hand in the general direction of the library.

“Oh?” Levi asked, as though he hadn’t spent the first week or so of his employment reading through that very book. “Bad break-up, then?” he asked, gently, trying to soften the blow of his question as much as possible.

Erwin sighed heavily, turning his full attention to Levi. “Right as we were about to get married, she had a sudden change of heart.”

Levi’s lips tightened in pity. “So sorry to hear that,” he said quietly, reaching over to place his hand over Erwin’s on the desktop. Erwin let Levi lace their fingers together before continuing. “She said that she’d made a mistake,” he said lightly, but Levi could still pick out the undercurrent of leftover bitterness that rang through Erwin’s words. Still a sore spot, then, apparently. “She fell in love with some other guy back there,” Erwin finished. “They got married a year or so ago. I just didn’t have the heart to return all the wedding registry gifts we’d already gotten, and I thought I’d left all of them back in New York. The plates were a surprise.” Ah, Levi thought. That would explain it.

“Do you still like them?” At Erwin’s confused expression, Levi added, “The plates, I mean. Do you still like them?”

Erwin wrinkled his nose in distaste. “Not at all. They were her choice, not mine, though to be fair if I’d had my way we wouldn’t have had a china service anyway. A waste of space.”

“Come on, then,” Levi said, grinning as he tugged Erwin out of his seat, leading him to the kitchen. “Let’s get rid of them.”

* * *

 

Ten minutes later, the box of china had been taken down out of its position on one of the higher shelves of a kitchen cupboard, and spread out over the granite counter. Erwin looked at Levi in confusion. “What are we supposed to do?” he asked.

“Allow me to demonstrate,” Levi said, reaching out to pluck a heavy plate from the stack. Holding Erwin’s gaze, Levi tossed the ceramic plate a few feet away, shattering into shards against the floor. Erwin looked shocked at first, but then as Levi held out another plate to him, he took it eagerly. “Go on,” Levi urged. “Your turn now.”

The exhilarated gleam of taboo amusement and exertion filled both their faces with delight as they took turns smashing the china service into pieces on the stones.

* * *

 

When the last plate and the gravy boat lay in white shards on the stone floor, Erwin huffed and turned to Levi with a soft gleam in his eyes. He looked a mess: his hair was mussed, his face was glowing with the recent activity, and Levi reached up to smooth his fingers through Erwin’s hair, a right that he considered his now. Much to his surprise, Erwin grasped his wrist, tugging his hand down to press kisses to Levi’s palm. The kisses trailed up Levi’s wrist, Erwin pulling Levi closer and closer until he could wrap his arms around Levi and tug him into a tight embrace. Their tongues massaged roughly against each other, and Levi’s fingers tightened in the front of Erwin’s shirt, trying to pull him even closer.

Erwin’s hands seemed to be everywhere at once, stroking through the thick dark waterfall of Levi’s hair in one instance and kneading circles into the small of his back the next. His touch sent tingles sparking through Levi’s skin, the light crop of stubble dusting his jaw rubbing rashes into Levi’s delicate skin.

Much to his embarrassment, Levi moaned, rather loudly, as Erwin pressed up against a nearby wall and nudged his thigh gently between Levi’s. Erwin pulled back, judging Levi’s reaction, and when he’d found it debauched to his satisfaction, he resumed his ministrations. Teeth nipped at the curve of Levi’s jaw, the slender column of his neck, leaving scarlet hickies that not even the high collared shirts he favored would be able to conceal, and Levi wound his hands through Erwin’s hair, gasping as Erwin’s fingers deftly unbuttoned his shirt and pushed the panels of fabric aside.

“Wait,” he whispered, Erwin’s fingers reaching up to roll his nipples into tight peaked points, growing rosy and deliciously sore beneath his ministrations. “Can our first time at least be in a bed?” he breathed, the vibration of Erwin’s laugh against his neck making him whimper.

“Sure,” Erwin said, magnanimously, a gloriously happy smile spilling over his face, and taking care not to step in any of the broken china that Levi vowed he’d sweep up later, Erwin led Levi into his bed.

* * *

 

Impatience ran rife through the both of them, and Levi had barely been pushed back into the pillows of Erwin’s bed before Erwin was already reaching out to peel his shirt off him and work at the clasp of his worn denim capris. Their clothes pooled in puddles on the floor, and Levi couldn’t help whining as Erwin sank his teeth into the sensitive flesh of his inner thigh. Erwin’s breath wafted warm and tantalizing over his aching cock, full and jutting rosy from the junction of his thighs, and Levi couldn’t keep himself from writhing in the sheets as Erwin slowly and tentatively pressed a kiss to the weeping head before pressing the flat of his tongue against the sensitive underside and wrapping his lips around him. Levi grit his teeth, clenched his eyes closed; he was sure if he even so much as looked at Erwin right now, he’d come and that would be the end of it, and he wanted to drag this out as long as he could possibly stand.

Erwin, unfortunately, had other ideas, and the wet welcome warmth of his mouth around Levi’s flesh disappeared quickly, the mattress shifting beneath him as he reached to fumble in his nightstand drawer for a bottle of what Levi recognized as lube, and he shivered with anticipation as Erwin reared back to steady himself on his knees as he slathered a generous coating of the viscous liquid onto his fingers.

“You okay with this?” Erwin asked, breathlessly, and Levi nodded frantically.

“Yes, yes,” he agreed, quickly, gnawing at his lip as Erwin’s attention shifted downwards to the bitten spread of his thighs. Erwin carefully, slowly, lovingly pressed the pad of a fingertip tentatively against Levi’s furled entrance, massaging the muscle until it blossomed beneath his touch and he was able to wriggle a finger into Levi.

Admittedly, it had been a while since Levi had participated in any such activity, but his muscles remembered the feeling all too well, and he relaxed in increments, accepting the stretch gradually. A second finger followed, massaging and painting Levi’s insides with lube, and Levi gasped, his fingers digging into the sheets as the tip of Erwin’s middle finger rubbed against the firm nub of his prostate. Pleasure arrowed up into him to pool heavy in the pit of his belly, and after breathlessly assuring Erwin that he was good, that he was fine, that he was more than excellent, Erwin worked a third finger into him. The spread and stretch was exquisite, and Levi ached for more and more of it, his words garbled as he begged Erwin to just get a rubber on and fuck him already.

“Alright, alright,” Erwin said, a laugh in his voice, and Levi rolled over, propping himself up on his hands and knees, his bangs brushing against the sheets as Erwin tore open the corner of the foil packet, rolling the latex over himself and giving himself a few generous strokes as he laid a hand against Levi’s hip and positioned himself carefully with the other.

Erwin nudged himself into Levi, centimeter by centimeter, and Levi’s fingers curled into fists on the sheets, shuddering and gasping for breath. Erwin stretched him wide, filling him with heat in a way that he hadn’t been aware he’d been sorely missing, and once Erwin had finally bottomed out inside him in agonizing slowness, Levi only spared a few moments of stillness before pressing his hips back into Erwin and begging him for more in a voice that he refused to acknowledge as his own.

Erwin obliged him with smooth, loose thrusts, the head of his cock nudging gently against Levi’s prostate in every instroke, and Levi sobbed, clawing at the sheets and pillowcases as Erwin worked him into an inferno from the inside out. Pleasure and ecstasy roiled in the pit of his belly, his cock heavy and tight as it bobbed between his thighs.

Levi tried to muffle his sobs and whimpers of ecstasy into one of Erwin’s pillows, but the hand that had been on his hip threaded into his damp hair and tugged his head back gently. The noises he made bounced wetly around the bedroom, sharpening into shrill cries and pleas as Erwin’s other hand wrapped itself around Levi’s cock.

Levi alternated between pressing back into Erwin’s thrusts and pressing forward into the curl of Erwin’s hand, and his rhythm grew sloppier and sloppier, especially as Erwin’s thumb massaged over the weeping head of his cock, smudging sticky fluid back into the velvet skin. Erwin peppered kisses over Levi’s back, nipping at the junction of his shoulder.

“Please, Levi,” he groaned, in a strained voice, “please come.” His voice was begging, entreating, and Levi could hardly refuse such a heartfelt request. He moaned Erwin’s name, shattered and sobbing, as he came in thick ropes over Erwin’s fingers, painting the sheets beneath him. Through the crests of pleasure that still lapped over him, Levi could faintly feel Erwin’s cock jerking and twitching inside him, and he smiled, gratified and limp, as Erwin collapsed on top of him with a breathy murmur of affection.

* * *

 

Long after they’d bathed and Levi had changed the sheets on Erwin’s bed and swept up the broken pieces of china, Erwin came to him with his tattered copy of The Neverending Story held in hand.

Levi looked up at him, curiously, from where he was finishing up folding towels before heading shyly up to Erwin’s bed, where Erwin had invited him to spend the night for the first time in light of recent events.

“Er, you said that this was one of your favorite books when you were a kid,” Erwin murmured, looking surprisingly abashed.

“Indeed I did,” Levi agreed, folding the last towel and putting it away in one of the cabinets. “It’s a fantastic story. And, I’ll admit, when I saw you owned it, I couldn’t help but read through it again.” To Erwin’s credit, he didn’t look angry or upset, or surprised, even. He just held it out towards Levi.

“I think I’m ready to hear it,” Erwin said, softly, and Levi accepted the weight of the book along with Erwin’s words, taking them straight to heart. With Erwin cradled in the bedsheets next to him, Levi cleared his throat and began to read.


End file.
